


Soft as Spun Sugar

by HerAwesomeShinyness



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Post-Canon, claude and holst also feature but like this is not about them, like the title is there for a reason ok?, specifically post verdant wind, this is a birthday present it can be as mindless as I want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:28:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21749776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerAwesomeShinyness/pseuds/HerAwesomeShinyness
Summary: Some time after Fodlan finally calmed down, Marianne goes to visit Hilda for her birthday, but while she is there, instead of spending time with her or maybe trying to figure out exactly how they feel about each other, she keeps disappearing. Is Hilda right to try and not be too worried? (yes, yes she is) Is she going to succeed at not being too worried? (not really, no)
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	Soft as Spun Sugar

"–and then you pass the needle through like this, and let go of the stitch. Got it?" Just a few months ago, Hilda would never have admitted she was teaching Marianne how to knit as an excuse to hold her hands as she guided her through it.

These days, she could admit—even without being asked—that being able to hold her hands was only secondary to her radiant smile, made only more stunning by how briefly it broke through Marianne's calm yet determined exterior.

"Yes, I think I see. Thank you very much Hilda, I always wanted to learn, but I'd fail so horribly that I couldn't bring myself to continue," Marianne replied quietly, "could I try on my own?"

"Of course!" She made sure to put all the pride she felt into her voice, encouraging. Marianne was growing more confident by the day, but she was still so scared of doing things on her own, this deserved praise.

As she moved away from where she'd been sitting behind Marianne, her head on her shoulder and her arms stretching to cover her...friend's longer ones, however, Marianne surprised her again.

"Wait! Just because, um. Just because you don't have to hold my hands anymore doesn't mean I want you to stop holding _me_."

Oh goddess, she was blushing and it was _adorable._ She didn't deserve this. How could one woman be so perfect.

Just as red as Marianne, probably more, Hilda leaned forward again, this time putting her arms around her waist, and watched as she started, slowly and a bit clumsily, to work.

\---

Hilda was...deeply confused. And not a little worried.

Of course, Marianne was still uncomfortable around too many people, and the Goneril estate was a new environment for her. It was only natural that she might, feeling overwhelmed, retreat to the stables.

But she was fleeing from _her_ as well. Was it the hugging? Had she accidentally overstepped a boundary? No. Marianne had asked her to continue, that couldn't be it. And it wasn't like they hadn't hugged before, so that was two strikes against that theory.

And they had had a conversation about their relationship. A vague conversation, halting and overshadowed by the idea of ruining their friendship, and the looming knowledge that Marianne's adoptive father wanted her to marry, but still.

They were pretty clear on what they wanted, and Marianne had specifically come to visit a full month before her birthday, so they'd have time for themselves without any meddling friends or relatives.

And her parents and her brother had all agreed to treat her well and not be overbearing, and they'd been doing pretty well. In fact, they'd been doing so well she'd seen Marianne _start_ a conversation with Holst. A conversation that had stopped as soon as she approached, yes, but that wasn't necessarily bad. Was it?

Ugh. Relationships were scary.

And she couldn't even hit her head on the table in frustration because it was covered in her latest project.

The only good thing about Marianne disappearing for hours at a time was that it made it a lot easier to work on jewelry for her in secret. But they didn't _need_ to be secret.

Well, maybe the first few tries did. The lily of the valley was a beautiful flower, as elegant and delicate as Marianne herself, but it was difficult to design around, and to replicate. Maybe she should've used a different flower. Or maybe a portrait of Dorte.

Someone knocked on the door, and she nearly threw half a dozen little cloth flowers to the ground. So maybe she was a little jumpy. It was _fine_.

"Hilda?" Oh, Holst. "Can I come in?"

"If you want." she yelled in the general direction of the door. So maybe she wasn't in the mood to get up to let him in, it was her privilege as a younger sister. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I've been a little worried about you, to be honest," the meddling meddler said, walking in, "you've been sulking for a few days, and I thought, what with Marianne being here, you'd be in a better mood. But instead you're hiding in your room. Which is even messier than usual. Are you sure you wouldn't like me to help?"

"I'll fix it soon, I was just looking for the good beads. I can do things on my own sometimes, you know?" She snapped. She hadn't meant to but...maybe she was a little stressed, ok? She was allowed to be mean to her brother.

"All right," he said, laughing, "but if you need anything, just tell me—wow. That is a lot of very similar jewelry. But, but it's gorgeous!"

"Marianne's been hiding and I'm worried and this is her favourite flower." She. Hadn't meant to say that. The likelihood of _Holst_ being any help was basically zero, after all. And in any case it was none of his business.

"Ah. I see. I thought you might have argued or something."

"Shut _up_." She didn't want to consider the idea that Marianne was angry at her, and Holst bringing it up was so not helpful.

"Oh, Hilda, it's ok," he said, awkwardly patting her shoulder, "if that's not the problem, then I think I know why she might be hiding. We had a conversation along those lines the other day."

"What? What did she say? What's wrong?" She nearly shouted, twisting in her chair to grab at his collar and _make_ him see how important this was. How _dare_ he not tell her before.

"Nothing's wrong, Hilda," he said, grimacing a little. Oh. Right. He was fully recovered from the injuries he got from Nemesis, but sudden movements in winter were unpleasant. She let him go, and smiled in apology. He smiled back, so it was probably fine.

"As I was saying, nothing's wrong, but she wants to surprise you with something, and I'm sworn to secrecy."

Sworn to secrecy? A surprise? What?

Her confusion must have showed on her face, because her terrible brother laughed, and patted her shoulder again. "Don't worry," he said, "you'll find out soon enough."

Then he walked out, leaving her alone in her confusion.

A surprise? Was this some sort of birthday present? But then why was she hiding in the stables?

At least it was probably good?

Yes. This was better. Now at least she could puzzle over what this surprise might be, instead of worrying about something she might have done wrong.

Oh, but now she'd have to make something even better than what she already had, to equal the kind of surprise that took so long to prepare! Maybe something matching for the two of them? Or would that be presumptuous?

 _Probably_ not. Earrings maybe? Something small for Marianne, in pink, to show it was from her. Would hearts be too much? 

Maybe she could make a few different sets and then choose the most appropriate when she saw the actual surprise she was reacting to. Yes! That was a great idea! It would also give her more to do, so she'd have less time to stress.

\---

Marianne stopped hiding in the stables two days before Hilda's birthday, and the struggle not to ask her what she'd been working on was the hardest thing Hilda had ever done. But that was fine, she was willing to work far harder than that for Marianne.

After breakfast on the day—a quiet thing, her parents having anticipated that her friends would appear during the course of the day and thus planned for a birthday dinner—it finally happened.

Marianne grabbed her hand as soon as they had both finished eating, long fingers winding around her own in a confident way that made her heart skip a beat.

"Could you come with me, please?" She asked, not quite, but almost, looking her in the eye.

"Of course!" she answered, trying to stay calm, "where are we going?"

"Just to my room, it won't be long."

"Oh now I'm _curious_. What's in your room?"

"You'll find out soon," Marianne said, and the authority in her quiet voice made something in Hilda's chest tremble.

This had to be the surprise. But still, she did her best to stay calm, and follow Marianne at the pace she set, no matter how much she wanted to run ahead and find out what had robbed her of her presence for so long.

Marianne's room for the duration of her stay was right next to Hilda's own, so at least it would be easy to run over and grab the right set of jewelry to give to express her appreciation. Everything was _fine_. She was only moderately nervous and overthinking it.

"All right," Marianne said as soon as she closed the door behind them, "I'm going to let go of your hand now. Close your eyes, please?"

She did, and shuddered in the darkness as Marianne's hand slipped out of hers in a slow smooth slide. Her fingertips lingered for an instant, then moved away.

A drawer opened, and cloth rustled before it closed again.

"You can open your eyes, Hilda."

Marianne was smiling nervously, something blue and pink and soft-looking clutched in her hands. "It's for you," she said, "I know it's not very good, but..."

Looking at it again, it seemed to be a knit scarf, mostly pale blue, but with a pink stripe at each end. Hilda stepped forward and took it carefully, brushing her fingers against Marianne's as she did so.

It had all the signs of a first project: it was lumpy, and somewhat skewed, with a few holes from dropped stitches here and there. If she looked carefully she could see, among the blue, stands of what looked like horse hair—but that made sense, if she'd been knitting in the stables.

It was beautiful, and infinitely soft, and looking at it made something in her chest clench but also expand in the most wonderful way.

"Marianne..."

"I'm sorry! I know it's really not up to your standards, but it was the best I could do, and I thought, even if it's too ugly to wear it, it could be a...memento of some sort." She hung her head, looking down at her hands clutching each other.

"Marianne, please," Hilda said, wrapping the scarf around her neck, "don't say such things."

She stepped closer, taking hold of her hands and looking directly into her eyes, glad that, for once, being shorter would give her the advantage.

"You're right that it's not a perfect scarf, but you made it, for me. And you thought of me and what I like, and of the two of us together. It's the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Ah, the second?" Marianne asked, smiling slightly.

"Of course, silly. Nothing could be more beautiful than you, I love you."

"I love you too, Hilda. So much." Her smile was radiant now, perfect.

The hands she had been holding were on her face, although she hadn't noticed them moving, too fixated on Marianne's wide shining smile, her face—beautiful at the worst of times—glowing with joy. But now she couldn't see that either, because the smile was gone, pressing against her own, because they were kissing. Marianne was kissing her, and smiling, and perfect.

She'd have to give her all the jewelry she'd worked on for the past month to even come close to expressing how perfect she was.

\---

As expected, most of the former Golden Deer house appeared, allegedly independently, at the doors.

The last to arrive was Claude, bearing an assortment of colourful silks—the best in all Almyra for her, of course—and an apology from the professor for not being able to make it, together with a small bag of fruit tea, enough for two.

He, unlike everyone else, was incapable of minding his own business.

"That's a cute ensemble the two of you are wearing," he said as soon as he'd hugged them both, more expansive now that he had fewer secrets to keep.

"Oh hush you, Marianne made me a scarf, why would I not wear it?"

Of course, that was not all he was referring to. He'd smirked at that, of course, but also at Marianne's earrings and necklace, and their small pink heart pendants, and at Hilda's own, with their pale blue flowers which almost touched the soft scarf she was never going to take off again. And, of course, the matching rings they both wore.

"That is _adorable_ , you two. By is gonna be so upset she missed this. When's the wedding?"

"Claude!" Marianne exclaimed, her grip on Hilda's hand tightening as she blushed.

She was so beautiful, Hilda couldn't stop herself from leaning up to kiss her cheek.

"Soon." She said, brushing her left hand over Marianne's, still holding onto her. She had a lot of ideas about how to use that silk he'd brought her. Dressmaking couldn't be _that_ hard. "Soon."

**Author's Note:**

> This is a birthday present (and also apology for getting her addicted to fe) for my best friend, Em! It's the most self-indulgent but also good piece of writing I could summon, so I hope it's enjoyable to more than just the two of us


End file.
